A Parmigiani Fleurier for Every Occasion

Omar Hussein wearing the Tonda Hémisphères he got to celebrate the birth of his daughter in 2015.CreditCreditAmel Belahcene

By Kathleen Beckett

Feb. 20, 2017

It may have been Omar Hussein’s parents who bought him his first watch, a Swatch, when he was a boy. But it was his wife who knew the way to his heart: She got him a Parmigiani Fleurier.

“The person who knows you most is your wife,” said Mr. Hussein, 34, an entrepreneur in Dubai. “I appreciate minimal, classy designs. I believe that simplicity is complicated. My wife knows my taste.”

So in 2013, for his 30th birthday, she went to their trusted jeweler, Damas, and selected a Parmigiani Fleurier Automatic Transforma, with its eye-catching face of circles set within circles. That the watch was created by a fellow entrepreneur — whom Mr. Hussein called “the passionate watch restorer, Michel Parmigiani” — was a plus.

Another cause for celebration — the birth of his daughter — followed in 2015, as did another Parmigiani, a Tonda Hémisphères. (The Husseins also have a son.)

And last year, when Mr. Hussein next had a reason to celebrate, he bought another Parmigiani. When he launched his second start-up, the luxury shopping site homebazar.com, he bought “a Tonda 1950 Tourbillon, as I wanted to always remember the launch every time I look at my watch.”

Each watch serves a purpose. “I wear my Transforma watch when I travel, as it comes in handy because of the dual time zones feature.

“I wear my Tonda 1950 Tourbillon when I attend business meetings because I believe it represents my professional personality well,” he said.

“I wear my Tonda Hémisphères to all family functions and events, as this watch is going to be passed to one of my children and hopefully my grandchildren.”